There are just three schools alive in the race to land five-star guard Trevor Keels of Fairfax (Va.) Paul VI. There’s been no official timetable set for a decision, but the touted prospect’s narrow focus seems to indicate an announcement could come during the approaching early signing window. Virginia, Duke and Villanova are all technically options, but those three programs do not sit on level footing.
Here's how we rank the three contenders in order of how likely they are to land Keel’s letter of intent.
1. Villanova
This feels like an ever-so-slight lead, but a lead nevertheless. Duke is certainly still in this race, and it will shock no one if the Blue Devils pull it out. Still, Jay Wright and company have to feel good about where they stand with Keels. The Wildcats have had great success in the Washington, DC area under Wright, after all.
The fact that ‘Nova will have to replace All-Big East selection Collin Gillespie next year is also a nice selling point, as the hole in the backcourt could be appealing to a prospect like Keels that is capable of filling that void right away. That said, the Wildcats’ 2021 class is already loaded and could work against them.
2. Duke
Duke was Keels’ last visit before the Covid-19 crisis shut everything down and has looked like the favorite to win this battle at times over the last year. There isn’t much to separate the Blue Devils and Wildcats, so Duke could just as easily be listed as 1B as it is No. 2. Mike Krzyzewski has made Keels a top priority, and Coach K rarely whiffs when he sets his focus in this matter. Nobody is going to be stunned if Duke is the team left standing when Keels announces his decision, but Villanova seems to hold the slightest edge as things stand.
3. Virginia
There seems to be a sizable gap between Virginia and the top two, but the fact that Keels was able to take an official visit to UVA in September of 2019 has helped the schools’ cause. Nevertheless, it seems as though actually landing Keels will take a Herculean effort from head coach Tony Bennett and his staff down the stretch. Stranger things have happened in recruiting obviously, but the Cavaliers being the pick would be a moderately large shock.
